There’s no reason for investors to turn away from the Philippines due to the closure of five foreign banks  in the country because it is still a conducive place for investments, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said yesterday.
BSP deputy governor for supervision and examination sector Nestor Espenilla said the closure of five  foreign banks in the country happened in 2006, 2008 and 2009 and not recently like reported in various newspapers (not at the Daily Tribune).
“The recent announcement was just a matter of legal formality. A reporter just misunderstood the notice. There’s nothing to this that’s relevant today,” Espenilla told The Tribune.
Several left-leaning lawmakers lambasted the BSP for the closure of the five banks, saying the banking system is not well-managed, thus forcing some of them to close their Philippine offices.
The five foreign banks that closed their regional offices in the Philippines were Union Bank of California N.A., First International Bank, American Express Bank, Societe General and Fortis Bank.
Espenilla said the closures didn’t cause other foreign banks to be discouraged from opening their offices in the country.
He said there are other foreign banks that signified their intention to open up local offices as they  realize there’s a bigger potential in the country compared to its neighbors in Southeast Asia.
However, Espenilla declined to name any of the foreign banks that signified intention to open Philippine offices.
“This only shows that our banking system is well capitalized by current standards. And I think all of them will be Basel III compliant starting 2014,” he said.